On Windows devices enrolled in Swif.ai:

This makes Swif.ai suitable for managing both:

The Swif agent operates under the SYSTEM user, which possesses administrative rights. This setup ensures that all commands executed by the agent are within the administrative scope, eliminating the necessity for manual elevation to administrator status, as one might do in Windows PowerShell.

The SYSTEM user is a special account that has administrative privileges but lacks a user interface (UI). Consequently, operations that require interaction with the UI cannot be conducted by the SYSTEM user due to its inability to access the UI. This design choice is crucial for understanding how the Swif agent interacts with the system it's installed on, ensuring it has the necessary permissions to perform its tasks efficiently while also highlighting certain limitations regarding UI-based operations.

Swif allows you to use a placeholder like {{SWIF_ADMIN_USER}} to automatically run the command as the Swif admin. For more details, please refer to Running on the Swif Admin Account.

Note, for security reasons, Windows usually prompts for the password interactively when you try to run as another user. This is a built-in security mechanism to avoid exposing credentials directly in scripts or command-line parameters.

Unlike macOS or Linux, where you can often pass credentials programmatically (e.g. sudo with automation), Windows requires the user to enter the password manually when using commands like runas.

There are workarounds using PowerShell’s Start-Process -Credential, or third-party tools like PsExec, but natively runas itself doesn’t accept a password directly for security reasons.

When adding or managing a Windows application in
​Device Management → Applications, Swif.ai provides multiple script execution points.

​All scripts below run with administrator (SYSTEM) privileges.

When it runs:
Before the installer file is executed.

Typical use cases:

Example (PowerShell):

The Installer File itself runs as administrator.

Supported formats include:

You can pass silent or custom flags using Installer Arguments, for example:

No additional elevation is required.

When it runs:
Immediately after the installer completes.

Typical use cases:

Example:

When it runs:
To determine whether the application is already installed or successfully deployed.

Configured under Validation Rules with Rule Type = Script.

Purpose:

Example:

The Uninstaller File also runs with administrator privileges.

Common examples:

Example:

When it runs:
After the uninstaller file or when removing an app assignment.

Typical use cases:

Example:

When deploying a Windows application, scripts execute in this order:

All steps execute as SYSTEM / administrator.

Swif.ai enables secure, automated execution of administrator-level commands on Windows devices without user interaction. Through the Software (Applications) page, administrators can run elevated scripts across the entire application lifecycle:

This ensures consistent, scalable, and secure Windows software management across your fleet.

If you're working with a Mac device, you can run a command as an administrator. For more information, visit the Mac command guide.

If you're working with a Linux device, you can run a command as sudo. For more information, visit the Linux command guide.